The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations are in place to ensure that

employees who use work equipment are provided with adequate health and safety training.

Employees should be aware of the risks of the relevant equipment as well as the most

appropriate and safest methods for use. When the regulations are not adhered to, serious

accidents can occur.

A Health and Safety Executive investigation was started after a 32 year old man was left

with a double open fracture to his shinbone and multiple fractures to bones in his right foot

after the dumper truck he was driving in the course of his employment overturned.

The worker was removing an old path to a green house in an Essex based horticultural

nursery with an articulated dumper truck. The nursery had failed to provide adequate

training for safely using the truck. The worker could not read English yet received

instructions as to how to use the truck in a manual.

Consequently as he was emptying a load weighing about a tonne, the truck overbalanced

falling on its side and trapping the workers right leg underneath.

The man subsequently had to undergo four separate operations to repair and restructure

the bones in his leg and foot. This included the placing of pins and a skin graft. The worker

will continue to work with a limp for this rest of this life, and as of yet it remains unclear

whether he will ever regain the full use of his leg entirely.

The firm’s breaches of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations led to a fine of

£8000 in total after a Health and Safety Executive investigation was initiated, and the case

was finally heard in Colchester Magistrates’ Court on 1st February 2013.

After the hearing, HSE inspector Julie Rayner said:

“Risks associated with the use of workplace transport equipment, dumper trucks in

particular, should never be underestimated. Had the employees received proper training for

the operation of the truck then this incident could have been prevented.

“Employers have a duty of care to ensure that drivers are suitably trained, that risks are

properly assessed, and that adequate safety measures are in place. Parkers Nurseries failed

to do so, and as a result a young man with his whole life ahead of him may now be left with

a permanent disability.”

The Work at Height Regulations state that every employer must ensure that any

work carried out at height by its employees is properly planned, appropriately

supervised and carried out in a way which is reasonably and practicably safe.

Therefore when two employees of a Willenhall construction company were spotted

working at height with no protective measures by a concerned member of the public,

it was only a matter of time before a Health & Safety Executive investigation began.

When the HSE visited the premises it discovered that the workers had not

undertaken any relevant roofwork training. The men were welding steel uprights to

the apex roof of a large furniture store in Cannock. There were no protective

measures in place, such as fall prevention systems like scaffolding, no risk

assessment had been carried out and the work was poorly planned.

Fortunately know one fell from height due to the lack of safety measures in place,

however it was found that the Health & Safety failings had created an unnecessary

danger to the two men and the rest of the workforce working below them.

The firm pleaded guilty to breaching the Work at Height Regulations and was

subsequently fined over £8000.00 in total. A HSE Inspector speaking after the

hearing said:

“Falls from height are a significant cause of fatalities and serious injuries. The risks

involved with work at height are entirely foreseeable, and it is essential that proper

planning, assessment and training is undertaken to reduce these risks.

“Those who neglect to do this, like Fastrac Profiles Limited, and who don’t provide a

safe system of work put workers at serious risk. They are clearly failing to comply

with the required standard.

“I would like to thank the member of the public who brought this to our attention

because the situation had the potential to lead to serious or fatal injuries for both

men.”

If you have suffered an injury after a fall from height at work, we may be able to help

you obtain compensation for your injuries. Leave a query on our website….

A renovation company based in Kent has been fined over £10,000.00 in total after a labourer employed by the company fractured two vertebrae and broke five ribs after falling more than four metres from a shoddily constructed scaffolding tower.

The group of labourers were stripping out a basement gym in London in April 2011 by removing the ventilation and ducting. The tower was used to allow the workers to access the ducting from a ceiling above a squash court, but was knocked over sending the worker and the tower hurtling towards the ground some 4.5 metres below.

The Judge at Westminster Magistrates Court heard that the accident would have been avoidable if proper planning and management had been in place. It was uncovered that none of the labourers had the knowledge to properly erect a scaffolding tower and were left unsupervised in their task.

The Kent Company admitted to breaching the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007. The regulations demand that a contractor of a project must “ plan, manage and monitor the construction phase in a way which ensures that, so far as is reasonably practicable, it is carried out without risks to health or safety.”

Following the hearing, a Health and Safety Executive Inspector Keith Levart said:

“The worker suffered painful injuries that could have been avoided had the labour crew been properly managed, and had their work on site been adequately monitored by MJM Fitout Ltd.

“The temporary staff had effectively been left to their own devices and were working in an unplanned and unsafe manner. It illustrates the clear need for companies to have practical arrangements in place to ensure that all personnel involved in and undertaking construction work understand what is expected of them, and are able to co-operate and communicate with one another.

“Work at height from scaffolds poses clear risks, and should only ever be undertaken by competent personnel with the right equipment, knowledge and experience.”

If you have suffered an injury after a fall from height at work, we may be able to help you obtain compensation for your injuries. Leave a query on our website….

In December 2009 Mrs B was on her way from work. She alighted her usual bus and then made her way to Liverpool Street Station, where she intended to catch her usual train home. The weather was extremely cold and it had been snowing.

Mrs B was walking towards the escalators when someone in front of her fell over, she therefore carried on her journey with extreme caution. Unfortunately, moments later she was subject to the same fate. Mrs B’s left foot slipped from underneath her and she fell to the floor.

Mrs B attended hospital straight away, she was diagnosed with a triple fracture to her ankle and advised that surgery was required.  She remained in hospital for over a week and her ankle remained in a cast for 4-6 weeks after the accident, following which an air cast was fitted for a further 2 months.

Mrs B could not work for around 6 weeks and had no choice but to work from home the majority of the time. Her usually active fitness regime was also severely affected and she was not able to partake in the fitness activities she once enjoyed for some 18 months.

Mrs B contacted WE Solicitors in January 2010. We Solicitors brought a claim for compensation on her behalf. The rail company denied that they were at fault and initially declined to compensate Mrs B. Despite this, WE Solicitors were able to negotiate an out of court settlement of £6000.00 for Mrs B, in the end avoiding the need for court proceedings. Both Mrs B and WE Solicitors are very pleased with the outcome.

Mrs H contacted WE Solicitors to bring a case against the Railway Company for failing to clear the ice, which caused her injury. After a long and complicated legal battle, Mr David Wingate of WE Solicitors recovered damages for Mrs H of £300,000.00. Both Mrs H and WE Solicitors are delighted with the result. Mrs H had to say about her experience with WE Solicitors….”

‘I had a very long and complicated legal case. At times it was extremely stressful and emotional. David was always there to support me through the various legal twists and turns. He always replied to my e-mails and phone calls. He always provided great advice, listened to me and explained the legal process in detail. He had access to some of the very best medical legal experts and to excellent barristers who all contributed to my case. In the end, David made sure that I got the result that I was due. It has helped me to radically change my life.

David’s perseverance, professionalism, contacts and knowledge means that I can now reclaim my life and live a lifestyle that means I can cope with my pain and disability. ‘

Mr C was involved in the refurbishment of a large department store in Manchester. The store had been partly demolished and a machine had been used to break up some concrete. The concrete had been strengthened using steel rods, which remained in the rubble which Mr C was helping to put into a skip.

As he was throwing the bits of rubble into the skip, one of the protruding steel rods cut Mr C’s forearm, leaving him with a 5 inch laceration, which has since left him scarred.

Despite his employers denying that they were liable to pay him compensation, WE Solicitors were able to negotiate a settlement of £2,000 on his behalf.

Both Mr C and WE Solicitors are very pleased with the outcome.

Therefore, another forklift truck driver was assisting him. Due to the fact that no straps were available to fasten the tree to the forklift, the tree fell off the forks and landed on Mr S, knocking him off the lorry.

Mr S sustained a broken ankle.

Mr S came to WE Solicitors to help him recover compensation for his injuries. Mr S’s employers admitted that they were liable to pay him compensation after WE Solicitors made allegations to them in regards to their various failings to protect Mr S’s safety.

WE Solicitors negotiated compensation of £5579.50 on Mr S’s behalf. Both Mr S and WE Solicitors are very pleased with the outcome.

First Reported on 22^nd November 2012 by the Health and Safety Executive: http://www.hse.gov.uk/press/2012/rnn-nw-industrialanticorrosives.htm

A Burnley Plastics firm have pleaded guilty to a breach of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998, after a 43 year old worker narrowly avoided severing his fingers when his hand came too close for comfort with a rotating blade. The Regulations place a duty on employers to ensure measures are taken to prevent employees gaining access to dangerous parts of machinery. Despite this, the Health and Safety Executive have investigated several incidents at factories where guards have not been fitted to dangerous machinery, resulting in workers suffering permanent damage to their hands, sometimes even losing fingers.

The Burnley company left several machines in its factory without guards attached. This is despite the fact that during a risk assessment they conducted in 2007, they realised that they needed to fit guards to several of their machines, including the one that injured a 43 year old worker in this instance. The company failed to act on this and did not fit guards to protect their workers.

The Health and Safety Executive had previously served 3 prohibition notices on the company, which required guards to be fitted. The company was fined just under £9,000 for their actions.

The Health and Safety Executive Inspector David Myrtle said that:

“The employee was lucky not to have lost several fingers when his hand came into contact with the rotating cutting tool at the IAC Plastics factory.

“There was simply no point in the company carrying out a risk assessment four years earlier if it wasn’t going to act on the findings. The firm knew the machines needed to have guards fitted but did nothing about it.

“We investigate several incidents every year where workers lose fingers in machinery. It’s only by chance that the worker wasn’t more seriously injured in this case.”

WE Solicitors specialise in employer liability compensation so contact us today if you have suffered an injury and we will help you secure the compensation you deserve!

Ms J was employed by a packing and gasket company. Part of her duties were to pack metal gaskets into boxes, which were then  delivered to customers. These gaskets were very sharp and were to be packed tightly together. Ms J was only given latex gloves to wear whilst completing this task, these made her job very difficult as they restricted her hand movements, and therefore were not suitable to both protect her, and allow her to do her job.

We Solicitors made allegations against her employer under the Personal Protective Equipment regulations. They argued that there was a foreseeable risk of injury to Ms J, for which she was not provided with appropriate protection from the risk of being cut by the gaskets.

Ms J’s employer denied that they were at fault for her injuries. They argued that protective gloves were not necessary as they did not believe Ms J was exposed to a risk of injury.

We Solicitors used a decision in a recent court case to argue otherwise. In the case a judge that even a very small risk of injury created a duty for employers to provide protective equipment.

We Solicitors established that the risk of injury to Ms J was more than small, using the employers own risk assessment.

We Solicitors negotiated a settlement of £4,500.00 for Ms J, despite only expecting to recover £3,700.00 for her. Both We Solicitors and Ms J are delighted with the result.

 A 53 year old worker from Nottingham has lost four finger ends after his employer failed to abide by Health & Safety Law.

The man worked for a Nottingham based company in the brewing and food industry. He was feeding powdered ingredients into an industrial mixer when his fingers were severed by the spinning blades. He lost the tips of his index finger and little fingers above the first knuckle, and the ends of his middle and ring fingers just below the first knuckle on his right hand. The accident occurred on the 9^th March 2011.

As a result the man was off work for several months and now struggles with simple everyday tasks such as using his mobile phone, cutlery and fastening buttons. The Health and Safety Executive found that his employer had failed to abide by a set of Health and Safety Regulations named the ‘Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998’. These regulations impose a duty on employers to prevent their employees from gaining access to dangerous parts of machinery.

It was found that no guard had been placed on the industrial mixer to prevent access to its dangerous parts. If a guard had been fitted, it is likely this accident would not have occurred and the man would not have lost his fingers.

Jayne Towey, a Health and Safety Executive said:

“The risk was entirely foreseeable, but no-one at the company had the foresight to consider the mixer was inadequately guarded. This was despite the fact that clear industry guidance is readily available and the fact that a large number of workers are injured on poorly guarded machines every year.”

The company was fined £20,000.00 and ordered to pay £7,674 in costs after pleading guilty to the breach of the Regulations